Uefa look set to launch an investigation into the crowd trouble in Italy’s Euro 2016 Group H qualifier against Croatia, which was halted after flares were thrown on to the pitch at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan.

Antonio Candreva had put Italy ahead after 11 minutes but that was quickly cancelled out when the Italy goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, fumbled a shot from Ivan Perisic four minutes later.

Flares were then thrown on to the field by the Croatia fans and a brief hold-up ensued before play could resume.

The atmosphere continued to be hostile into the second half and after 70 minutes the Dutch referee, Bjorn Kuipers, took the players off after more flares landed on the pitch, with Italian riot police going into the Croatia section to try to restore order.

Following a stoppage of around 12 minutes the match restarted again and Croatia spurned a great chance to win the qualifier when Perisic dragged his shot wide after being put away down the left.

Croatia are ahead of Italy on goal difference with both teams level on 10 points from four matches and facing possible sanctions once Uefa have compiled all the necessary reports.

The Croatia coach, Niko Kovac, said: “It’s not the first time and it’s not accidental. I hope the bodies in charge will find a way to solve the problem because it paints a bad picture of Croatia. I was ashamed and I apologised to the Italians after the game. There were families with children up there.”

The former Croatia forward Goran Vlaovic suggested it might have been a protest against the Croatian football federation.

He said: “If this is aimed against the Croatian football federation, it’s not the best way to express discontent because at the end of the day football and the national team suffers.”